An attorney involved in the “Young Slime Life” gang trial will remain on the case after coming to an agreement with the Georgia Public Defender’s Council over her pay and contract.
Attorney Angela D’Williams, who represents Rodalius Ryan, filed a motion to withdraw from the case citing low pay. This was the second time D’Williams had requested to withdraw.
In her motion, D’Williams said she had to give up the Duluth office she was leasing and is unable to take on new clients due to the case, which has already gone on for more than a year.
“I thought this case would’ve been over by now,” said D’Williams, who represents Rodalius Ryan. “Nobody wants to hire an attorney who’s been in trial for a year.”
On Friday, Judge Ural Glanville heard arguments on behalf of D’Williams through her attorney, Leah Abbasi, and testimony from GPDC’s Executive Director Omotayo Alli, to determine if D’Williams would be allowed to withdraw from the case.
Alli said the council and D’Williams have a contract that pays her $5,000 a month, with a yearly cap of $55,000. Alli said they are unable to pay D’Williams more money to represent Ryan in the case.
“We have paid what we can for this case,” Alli said.
For more than an hour, Abbasi asked Alli a series of questions about the contract and how GPDC operates, including whether or not they had tried to find other forms of funding to provide more money to D’Williams, who is the only remaining appointed counsel involved in the case.
Alli said D’Williams should have known whether or not she could meet the requirements to represent Ryan before signing the contract.
“The only reason we are involved in this case is because Mrs. D’Williams is asking to be removed again from the case,” Alli said. “We are paying for the contract that we made with her a few months ago.”
Last year, D’Williams and other appointed attorneys, whose clients’ cases have since been severed, sought additional pay from the council. At the time, they were being paid $15,000 for the duration of the trial.
The GPDC agreed to pay the attorneys $5,000 a month but capped their pay at $55,000 for the entirety of the trial, said D’Williams, who was appointed to the case in October 2022.
D’Williams, a sole practitioner, said, in her motion, that she appreciated the bump in pay but now it’s gone and she’s struggling to make ends meet.
During Friday’s hearing, it became unclear whether or not the contract D’Williams signed with the public defender’s council would renew once the $55,000 was reached this year.
After Glanville gave both parties a chance to discuss a solution, Abbasi said they’ve reached an agreement on a new contract that is more specific.
“The terms of payment will be $5,000 a month, through the duration of the trial,” Abbasi said.
D’Williams is the only attorney representing Ryan, while other defendants including Atlanta rapper Young Thug, have two or more attorneys. Abbasi asked Glanville and the council to see if they could provide additional assistance to D’Williams to help her manage the case load better.
Glanville said they will look into doing so. When describing the length of the trial, Glanville said, “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.”
In a statement, D’Williams said she was happy about the fact the council will continue to pay for her to represent Ryan through the duration of the trial. She said there needs to be a change in terms of how much money attorneys representing indigent defendants involved in RICO cases.
“The legislation needs to give the defense money to fight RICO cases the same way they give prosecutors. Innocent people go to jail because they don’t have money to fight the charges,” she said.
Most criminal defendants in Georgia — roughly 85% — are too poor to pay for their own defense lawyers and rely on state-appointed attorneys. But the state public defender system’s inability to hire and retain so-called “conflict” lawyers has left hundreds of people charged with crimes across Georgia with no one to represent them, The AJC previously reported.
Ryan is already serving a life sentence for the 2019 murder of Jamari Holmes, a case unrelated to the current trial.
Trial is expected to continue Tuesday, due to upcoming Presidents Day holiday on Monday. A juror has notified the court that their lease is ending at the end of the month and plan to move out of the county.
Glanville asked attorneys to help review case law to determine what to do with the jury, with a decision expected by Feb. 26.
A juror also asked Glanville if someone had eaten their snacks on Thursday, since they had brought some from home and they were gone.
“I have it on good authority the snack thievery will cease,” Glanville said jokingly.
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